Embodiments disclosed in the present invention relate generally to electrical technology, and more specifically to a system and method for in-vehicle network-controlled lighting.
Most all vehicles are equipped with interior lighting that may be turned on or off by an occupant, and interior lighting that may turn on automatically when a door is opened, such as the interior lightings located on the door panels or the dome lighting. The interior lighting may be controlled by the body control module (BCM). The body control module is an electrical control unit that is responsible for monitoring, and controlling a variety of different electronic components in a vehicle's body. In vehicles, the BCM has been configured to controlled components such as the power windows, air conditioning, power mirrors, immobilizer system, power locks, and power seats. The BCM communicates with all the other on-board computers using the vehicle's bus. The BCM may also control components such as load drivers, and actuating relays which control certain actions such as dimming the overhead light, or locking the doors.
In an effort to enhance user experience, infotainment centers have been offered by many manufactures as a standard option in new vehicles. The infotainment center typically performs tasks such managing and playing audio content, utilizing navigation for driving, delivering rear-seat entertainment such as movies, games, social networking, listening to incoming and sending outgoing SMS text messages, making phone calls, and accessing Internet-enabled or smartphone-enabled content such as traffic conditions, sports scores and weather forecasts.
In-vehicle network (IVN)-controlled ambient lighting is becoming increasingly popular in vehicles. More recently, vehicle manufactures have been offering ambient lighting as an optional feature. Ambient lighting is the soft illumination which may be located around the center console, door handles and pulls, cupholders and sometimes completely across the dash and in the footwells. This ambient lighting may also feature dimming capabilities, fading, and color. The ambient lighting may be kept on while the vehicle is in driving mode. The ambient lighting may be controlled by an ambient lighting module. The ambient lighting module may be electrically connected to the body control module or may be contained within the body control module.
In order to create light shows within a vehicle, owners have been able to synchronize music or video to lighting by installing a stand-alone system with after-market lights which can be mounted under the dashboard, in the door panels, and under the seats. However, the after-market lights must be affixed by the owner and must be powered by an external source, which can be bulky and unattractive. In addition, the owner must purchase and install a module configured to send signals from an audio source to the lighting system.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have an in-vehicle lighting system that would allow a user to synchronize an audio or video source through the vehicle's existing modules, such as the body control module, ambient lighting module or infotainment center, to the factory-installed ambient lighting (in-vehicle lighting network) located inside the vehicle without adding additional after-market lighting or attempting to modify the existing lighting system.
For simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale, and the same reference numbers in different figures denote generally the same elements. Additionally, descriptions and details of well-known steps and elements are omitted for simplicity of the description. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the words “during”, “while”, and “when” as used herein relating to circuit operation are not exact terms that mean an action takes place instantly upon an initiating action but that there may be some small but reasonable delay, such as propagation delay, between the reaction that it initiated by the initial action. Additionally, the term “while” means that a certain action occurs at least with some portion of duration of the initiating action. The use of the word “approximately” or “substantially” means that a value of an element has a parameter that is expected to be close to a stated value or position. However, as is well known in the art there are always minor variances that prevent the value or positions from being exactly as stated. It is well established in the art that variances of up to at least 10 percent (10%) are reasonable variances from the ideal goal of exactly as described. The terms “first”, “second”, “third” and the like in the Claims and/or in the Detailed Description of Drawings, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking or in any other manner. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and that the embodiments described herein are capable of operation in other sequences than described or illustrated herein.